Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
What a horrible game !
This discussion has been closed.
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Comments
Eerily similar outline also. Promise something with a 'kickstar or start up 'package' redo it and 'release' a whole other title and claim thats going to be the 'blueprint'/precursor to the 'actual' game all the while continuing to sell packages.
Throw up a bunch of crap servers and let a few of the simpletons who dont realize its vaporware to go in and see how 'awesome' it is. In fact I think Landmark was probably more 'playable' and stable than SC is.
They also had 'regular' updates and a plan for the future and all the stuff everyone sells people who want to believe in a dream.
If your memory is bad or you never heard of it Google is your friend. Look at the 'story line' of the rise and fall of that project and how they made changes and see how closely SC, Star Marine, and SQ 42 is to it.
Only difference is the money for that project stopped and what happened?
― George Carlin
In short ... you have .... nothing ...
i am glad we had this chat.
Have fun
That having been said, do you genuinely think that the product you have now is a fair representation of what 150+ million in funding and nearly a decade of development time should produce?
Once again .... slooowly ... for you:
It is not F2P.
pre-Launch development is being paid via a crowdfunding campaign. The first 1.2 % via Kickstarter, the other 98.8 % via CIG internal crowdfunding platform. You will find a few hundred gaming media articles about it, as well as a Guiness Book World Record in crowdfunding.
Post launch business model:
a) Sell Squadron 42 Solo Game
b) Sell SQ42 Story DLCs (two announced so far)
c) sell Star Citizen Persistent Universe B2P Buy (Once) to Play starter packages (containing a starter ship)
d) sell ship skins
e) sell basic starter level ship modules and equipment (weapons, shield, missiles etc)
f) Sell UEC (1000:1 conversion rate to dollar)
g) decorative items (e.g. Posters or Fish tanks for the hangar)
discussed but not confirmed recently (so currently considered non-official):
h) short duration one use small effect tuning booster packs (e.g + 3 % speed)
i) player/modder designed elements (e.g, clothing) a la Second Life
Have fun
The game development has not been without its problems and failures, on things they even had to start from scratch, for both this 2 titles under dev, we all would wish they would be further along by now, and so do the devs, but that was the pace of development as they were undertaking this project while they were also building a company from the ground up. To me, I don't find it unreasonable where they stand today all things considered.
have fun
Never, ever, underestimate meta-gaming on stuff like this, it's like Destiny with the mob spawn spots unlimited profit extravaganza, it always happens \o/
Player-driven economy on MMO's always leads to hyperinflation that devalues the currency a lot, that's when the grinder player is harmed because you end up forced to have to deal with ridiculously high prices that easily overcome your average earning rate.
It's an impossible balance for them to hit. Since they have control over the prices of items, they won't want to make the buyers of currency upset. Remember, they are the people that keep the lights on and it is stated that currency sales are a primary way of maintaining income.
It looks like you have some fantasy where they will do all of these little market manipulations to control inflation and the such. They won't, not only because it's very difficult to get right, but because it would piss off the players as well.
The game has its own earning rate, the hyperinflation hurts the grinder more because the earning rate on what the game gives you, will overall stay the same, creating the ridiculously high prices against earning rates that in many MMO's is like up to hundreds of hours invested just to buy one item.
Inflation to me is easier to control with AI-driven economy, than with player driven economy, with them setting pricing and earning rates they stand greater control to deal with things that tend to destroy any balance; remember inflation is also bad for the microtransaction, as it's not a dynamic rate (like GW2 conversion of gems to gold) the currency losing value will make the microtransaction more and more expensive.
Again, this is not an open market like other MMOs. The P2W mechanics that allow people to purchase currency is one of their primary forms of income. I don't know for sure whether they will price things out of reach of the guy that spends $750/month on 5 accounts, but if they did, they would be idiots.
The open market thing is also speculation because we know the pricing of X and Y, but then we start seeing some degree of crafting and production of resources owned by players themselves, potentially looking at trade outside the scope what is sold or bought by the game itself, between players/guilds.
And the problem with your last hypothesis, the one where you say players will be crafting and trading, if CIG does take a 90% share of the market, they could have set a ceiling on those crafted goods by having them available for purchase at whatever price they decide on. This would allow the purchasers of currency to be able to afford the goods and likely hurt very badly anyone that wanted to do crafting. The situation with P2W currency is very difficult to balance for (assuming you want a player economy in there somewhere).
Don't take it as 90% share is on everything, it will imply what they decide to put under the AI control where the pricing and all is stuff the players can influence little, and doesn't feel to me they'll do everything because as long there's ability to trade between players, they could work with their own prices. It's like those MMO's where the AI buys and sells at fixed prices, but when players gather/craft they can do direct trades for their own prices.
Star Citizen Free Fly Weekend announcement and articles
Source: robertsspaceindustries.com
"If you are new here, welcome! If you're returning after a long absence to check out new changes..." "...To help get you oriented, check out our overview of the game."
Gameplay Guides
Overview of the game
"Star Citizen is in active development. You can download and play Star Citizen Alpha 3.2 now. Additional features and updates will be released as they are developed."
Start Your Journey Today
Source: pcgamer.com
"...A section of the game is playable, as well as a number of ships such as the MISC Prospector, the Drake Dragonfly, the Aegis Avenger Titan, and the Drake Cutlass Black. In terms of the gameplay areas, you'll have a chance to try out some of what was added in the Alpha 3.2 update including multiplayer support for 50 people simultaneously. Also new to the game in Alpha 3.2 are more armour suits, a Kiosk system that lets you purchase items with in-game currency, and more weapons. You can see the full Alpha 3.2 patch notes here."
Source: usgamer.net
"There's a lot of drama surrounding Star Citizen, from lawsuits to delays, but if you're interested in checking out what the hubbub is all about you can try the latest Star Citizen Alpha this weekend for free."
Source: eurogamer.net
"Controversial space sim Star Citizen is currently free to try on PC, if you fancy taking to the heavens and seeing what development progress has been made in recent times.
Source: rockpapershotgun.com
"...The game is currently up to version Alpha 3.2, and this page has an overview of what they’ve recently added. Mining, mostly, which I personally have no interest in, but it might be tempting for EVE Online regulars."
Source: pcgamesn.com
"Should you decide to go for a spin, you’ll be able to see the Star Citizen Alpha 3.2 build teased during the PC Gaming show at E3 earlier this year."
Source: mmorpg.com
"...While the Alpha version of the game is available to download and play now, Star Citizen is currently in active development with new planets, ships, and features being added as production continues. "
It took me 2 minutes to gather the above info and paste here. Are you really saying that anyone, ever, has been vague about how this game is still in development and not finished? Come on mate. Many of the posts and speculations are about how this game is a vaporware and never will be finished.
It is fine to hate SC, to think it is trash, to ignore it, to bash the backers for giving away their monies for vaporware. All of that is alright in my book. More power to everyone.
But to complain why we are given a free demo but didn't receive proper instruction of what it really is--at the age of internet and thousands of posts, articles, pages of information and videos--is just plain ignorance. And I'm not sure how you ended up defending that!
We've been arguing about "buyer beware" for a few years now. Now we have to argue about "free demo downloader beware".
To find the answer to your question, which is a valid question, you can download the free demo and give it a good try. Then put your own experience against all that you read about SC so far and observe the effects of the demo on yourself.
Now here's a speculation. Perhaps, the demo is just about that. And maybe, there are people who've been thinking horribly about SC would know become more interested. And maybe, a few of them even convert. Those conversions equal money.
It's not like they've been hiding their "trash game" at its "shit state". There are tens of thousands of backers with access to the game. The cat has been already out of the hat for many a year now. They're not afraid of people learn what SC is today. They want that to happen. Because a fraction will turn into backers.
Anyways, that's just my own take. That's how marketing works. But here's the interesting part. Even if this is hurting them financially every time they do it, but they do it for the sake of transparency, then it is applaudable.
Again, SC deserves many criticism. Availability of a free demo is not one of them.